James Gunn Teases Casting Adam Warlock For Third ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy’

It has been a few months since Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 premiered in theaters, and while there will be other Marvel films that will hit the big screen before the third installment in the franchise, that does not mean James Gunn is not already planning what comes next. In fact, since an after-credits scene at the end of the second movie hinted at the character of Adam Warlock being a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Gunn is more than willing to tease fans of the Guardians of the Galaxy in regards to how the character will be cast.

In an interview with IGN, James Gunn was asked outright whether or not the rumors that have circulated about Matthew McConaughey being approached to portray Adam Warlock were true. However, the director was quick to shoot down those particular rumors. This is because, according to James Gunn, McConaughey’s age “doesn’t line up” with the vision that he has for their version of Adam Warlock. Simply put, the actor is just too old to play the part.

According to Comic Book, the version of Adam Warlock that James Gunn is looking to bring to the big screen is “basically a baby.” The director points out that the character is essentially just being born and Matthew McConaughey just does not fit the part in his mind.

Gunn did say that he is often given ideas as to who could play the cosmic hero on social media, but the visions do not line up. The director even shared that there were many suggestions that David Bowie could have played the part of Warlock before his death. Even though the character might be created as a full-grown adult, like in the original comics, this does not mean he has the same mental faculties as an adult. Instead, if the director keeps his version similar to the comics, Adam Warlock will have a sense of naivety about him that will not be served well by a more mature adult, like Matthew McConaughey.

Although James Gunn did not want to reveal too much about the kind of traits that his version of Adam Warlock will have, there was one thing that he did reveal. While the character was originally conceived as part of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, his character was ultimately written out. Now that his character will officially be debuting in the third film in the series, he will be different from how he was written into the second movie in order to better align with his part of the story in the third installment.

Even though fans of the Guardians of the Galaxy have been teased with the possibility of Adam Warlock making his debut in the third film in the series, there is still some time before this will happen. Not only do fans have to wait until after the massive MCU team up in Avengers: Infinity War, but there is still the casting process to get through as well. In the meantime, fans can rewatch the Adam Warlock tease at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2, which is set to release digitally on August 8 and on Blu-Ray and DVD on August 22.